Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Burma: Armed Conflict

lord alton of liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer byLord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 12 June,what assessmentthey have made of claims that the lack of international action taken against Burmese military leaders in response to the Rohingya crisis has emboldened them to escalate violence against Christians and other religious minority groups in Myanmar; whetherthey plan to make a public statement of support for a UN mandated global arms embargo against Myanmar; andwhether they plan to support any targeted financial sanctions and travel restrictions against members of the Burmese military.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: Since the Burmese military’s operations in Rakhine in August and September 2017, the UK has secured: EU agreement to introduce new sanctions targeting individual Burmese military commanders responsible for clearance operations in Rakhine; a strengthened EU Arms Embargo; and a UN Security Council Presidential Statement calling for Burma to hold to account those responsible for human rights violations in Rakhine State. The Government continues to assess that there is insufficient support at present for a UN Security Council Resolution instituting a global arms embargo for Burma.The UK has made clear its deep concern about the resumption of hostilities in Kachin, Shan and Karen States in recent months and called for Burma’s military to exercise restraint, including in the Foreign Secretary’s call with State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi on 11 June and the British Ambassador’s meeting with Burma’s Commander in Chief Min Aung Hlaing on 3 May.

Burma: International Criminal Court

lord alton of liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer byLord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 12 June,what practical steps they are taking to facilitate the referral of members of the Burmese military to the International Criminal Court.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The International Criminal Court (ICC) takes up cases when national authorities are unable or unwilling to prosecute. On 31 May, the Burmese Government announced a Commission of Inquiry to investigate human rights violations in Rakhine. The UK has welcomed the Commission while making clear that it needs to be credible, transparent and impartial. If adequate, a Burmese-led process offers the best chance of convictions which are accepted by the population.Following the UN Security Council's visit to Burma the UK discussed accountability options with Council members. There remains insufficient support in the Council for an ICC referral at this time, but this may change should we judge the Burmese Commission of Inquiry prove to be not credible.

Burma: Armed Conflict

lord alton of liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government (1) what practical steps they are taking, and (2) what resources they are making available, to give effect to the UN doctrine of the Responsibility to Protect in response to reports of identity-based violence in Kachin; and how they are addressing any gaps in their approaches to predicting, preventing and responding to mass atrocities; to developing a cross-departmental strategy on atrocity prevention; and the integration ofmass atrocity prevention into existing policy commitments and decision-making processes.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The Foreign Secretary spoke to Burma's State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi on 11 June and called for the Burmese military to exercise restraint and allow humanitarian access to those affected by recent fighting in Kachin. The UK's cross-Government approach to atrocity prevention includes the prediction and prevention of identity-based mass violence, alongside other forms of violence and instability, and is set within the Government's wider work on conflict prevention. Our early warning systems, such as our annual internal report on Countries at Risk of Instability, are complemented by shorter-term horizon-scanning tools, which assist policymakers in prioritising and directing Government engagement and activity on atrocity prevention and the Responsibility to Protect.

Israel: Palestinians

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the statement by the UK Ambassador to the UN Security Council on 30 May that the UK supports Israel's right to self-defence for its citizens, whether they also support the right of Palestinians to security and self-defence.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The UK supports the Palestinian Authority as a basis for laying the foundations for a safe and secure Palestinian state. In line with United Nations Security Council Reslution 242 (1967) the UK has always supported the right of all parties in the region to a just and lasting peace, with secure and recognised boundaries.

Department of Health and Social Care

Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme

lord freyberg: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much income they have received from the profit cap in the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme since 2014; and to which department the rebate is paid.

lord o'shaughnessy: Under the 2014 Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS), scheme members make payments to the Department based on the difference between allowed percentage growth rate and actual percentage growth rate in National Health Service expenditure on branded medicines.The 2014 PPRS has now delivered over £2.1 billion of PPRS payments.YearAggregate PPRS Payments2014£311 million2015£846 million2016£628 million2017 Q1£95 million2017 Q2£95 million2017 Q3£97 million2017 Q4£99 million The Department receives the income on behalf of the United Kingdom, and then apportions the monies between ‎the four countries. All funds are reinvested in health services for patient benefit.Following normal Government accounting rules, there is no separately identified or ring-fenced funding stream associated with PPRS payments.

DeepMind

lord freyberg: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether any underlying data from the Royal Free London and Moorfields Eye hospitals used by DeepMind is subject to contractual constraints that would prevent other innovators from developing similar commercial algorithms using the same data.

lord o'shaughnessy: These agreements were entered into with DeepMind locally and separately by the two trusts. We are not aware of any exclusivity in either set of contractual arrangements. The Royal Free’s contract with DeepMind Services Agreement between DeepMind Technologies Limited and Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust is publicly available, and a copy is attached.The use of innovative technologies offers great opportunities to improve patient care, reduce pressure on clinicians and provide more efficient, sustainable and personalised health and care services. However, patients’ privacy and right to consent to the sharing of their data outside direct care must be respected and data must only be shared on the correct legal basis, and in line with guidance from the Information Commissioner’s Office and the National Data Guardian.



Services Agreement DeepMind and Royal Free
(PDF Document, 1.91 MB)

Drugs: Marketing

lord hunt of kings heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord O'Shaughnessy on 5 June (HL8118), (1) how many Marketing Authorisation Holders (MAHs) there were, and (2) what proportion of MAHs were micro MAHs, in the most recent fiscal year for which data is available.

lord hunt of kings heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord O'Shaughnessy on 5 June (HL8118),(1) how many, and (2) what percentage of, Marketing Authorisation Holders had NHS sales below £5 million in the most recent fiscal year for which data is available.

lord o'shaughnessy: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has 800 Marketing Authorisation Holders (MAHs) registered on their system.For medicine licensing purposes we do not hold information on MAHs in relation to the size of their business. The MHRA does have a payment easement scheme for small companies who voluntarily apply and can demonstrate they meet at least two of the following criteria:- annual turnover must be not more than £6.5 million;- the balance sheet total must be not more than £3.26 million; and- the average number of employees must be not more than 50. The MHRA has 17 MAHs who are currently registered on the MHRA’s payment easement schemeWe do hold information on companies making sales of branded medicines which had sales of less than £5 million to the National Health Service. However, this does not distinguish between companies which are the MAHs, and those which are not. Currently, there are 93 companies which, through membership of the 2014 Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS), are assessed as having NHS sales (as defined by the scheme) of less than £5 million. Of those companies which are not members of the 2014 PPRS and therefore fall under the statutory pharmaceutical pricing scheme, 85 are currently assessed as having NHS sales of branded medicines (as defined by the scheme) of less than £5 million. We do not hold this data for manufacturers of generic medicines.

Drugs: Marketing

lord hunt of kings heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord O'Shaughnessy on 5 June (HL8118), whether they plan to (1) amend the Marketing Authorisation Holder fee waiver scheme in line with the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS); and (2) exempt any companies with NHS sales below £5 million; and for what reasons the conditions for SecurMed’s fee waivers differ from those of the PPRS.

lord o'shaughnessy: SecurMed, the not-for-profit company, set up by stakeholders in the United Kingdom medicines supply chain, is responsible for setting the fee model and level of fees as the UK’s National Medicines Verification Organisation (NMVO). We understand that SecurMed do not want to amend the waiver scheme in line with the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS) or exempt companies with National Health Service sales of below £5 million. As a not-for-profit company, if SecurMed’s income exceeds its needs, the excess will need to be returned to Marketing Authorisation Holders.The PPRS is a voluntary agreement negotiated on NHS medicines selling prices and managed by the Department for the UK.The fee waiver scheme is part of the implementation of the ‘safety features’ element of the Falsified Medicines Directive that is based on a European wide medicines supply chain stakeholder led model. The flat fee model they are using is based on a template (blue print) developed by stakeholders at a European level and published by the European Medicines Verification Organisation. The number of users and cost per connection is the main driver of the cost of the NMVO system. On that basis, the flat fee model was developed with a single fixed fee per marketing authorisation or connection.

Drugs: Marketing

lord hunt of kings heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord O'Shaughnessy on 5 June (HL8118),what assessmentthey havemade of the impact the policy of requiring companies who are Marketing Authorisation Holders (MAHs) to pay identical set up and annual operational fees regardless of the size of those companieswill have on (1) the competitiveness of smaller companies, and (2) barriers to market entry for prospective new MAHs; and whether theyplan to ask the Competition and Markets Authority to carry out such an assessment.

lord o'shaughnessy: SecurMed, the not-for-profit company set up by stakeholders in the United Kingdom medicines supply chain, is responsible for setting the fee model and level of fees as the UK’s National Medicines Verification Organisation (NMVO). In their supervisory capacity, the Department and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s (MHRA) aim is to ensure that SecurMed is complying with the regulation in a fair and proportionate way and this includes consideration of their fee structure.Our assessment is that the fee model and waiver that SecurMed is using is:- Based on a template (blue print) developed by stakeholders at a European level and published by the European Medicines Verification Organisation (EMVO);- In line with the model being used by other European Union countries; and- Based on the number of users and cost per connection as the main drivers of the cost of the NMVO system, where larger organisations which are more likely to have multiple marketing authorisations pay more.The annual fee waiver scheme for micro Marketing Authorisation Holders is designed to support start-ups and help ensure there is not a barrier to market entry. The fee model is part of the implementation of the ‘safety features’ element of the Falsified Medicines Directive, which is based on a European wide medicines supply chain stakeholder led model.In a supervisory capacity, the Department and the MHRA’s scrutiny includes:- EMVO’s blue print resulting from their assessment of different cost-allocation models;- Aligning the UK’s approach with other EU NMVOs; and- Seeking to ensure that the fee model is fit for purpose for the UK. We are not seeking changes to the fee model at this time and have no plans to carry out any additional assessment or request that the Competition and Markets Authority make an assessment.

Drugs: Marketing

lord hunt of kings heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord O'Shaughnessy on 5 June (HL8120), whether they will publish the information the European Commission has provided on how SecurMed’s fee model compares with other European Union National Medicines Verification Organisations.

lord o'shaughnessy: SecurMed’s fee model is based on a template (blue print) developed by stakeholders at a European level and published by the European Medicines Verification Organisation (EMVO). We know from discussions at the Commission led European Union Expert Group meetings that the flat fee model is being used by other National Medicines Verification Organisations (NMVOs) across Europe and therefore the United Kingdom is in line with other EU countries. It is for the EMVO and NMVOs to publish further information, rather than for the Department or the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency in their supervisory role.

Drugs: Marketing

lord hunt of kings heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord O'Shaughnessy on 5 June (HL8120), whether they will publish details of the changes to Marketing Authorisation Holder fee models they are calling for at a (1) national, and (2) European level to take account of the specific situation of small companies; and whether theyare callingfor fee waivers for a wider number of Marketing Authorisation Holders than in SecurMed’s new fee waiver scheme.

lord o'shaughnessy: In their supervisory capacity, the Department and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s aim is to ensure that SecurMed is complying with the regulation in a fair and proportionate way and this includes consideration of their fee structure. We are not seeking changes to SecurMed’s fee model at this time, including wider fee waivers. We have no current plans to publish details of our supervisory role, but to date this has included scrutiny over the European Medicines Verification Organisation’s blue print resulting from their assessment of different cost-allocation models; aligning the United Kingdom’s approach with other European Union National Medicines Verification Organisations; and seeking to ensure that the fee model is fit for purpose for the UK.

Medical Treatments

lord mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty's Government what process NHS England used to interpret guidance on individual treatments issued by the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence; and how they ensure such guidance is implemented consistently across England.

lord mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty's Government how NHS England formulates approval criteria for drugs already approved by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence; and how it involves (1) patients, and (2) clinicians in this process.

lord mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Individual Funding Requests have been submitted to the NHS for the treatment of blood cancer; and of those, how many requests were (1) successful, and (2) unsuccessful.

lord mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty's Government (1) what evidence NHS England considered, (2) which clinicians it consulted, and (3) which patient groups it consulted when deciding that ibrutinib should not be prescribed to people with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia who have been in remission for more than three years.

lord o'shaughnessy: NHS England has advised that it develops treatment criteria for cancer and other high cost drugs to support implementation of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance and to ensure approved treatments are available as intended, with access funded consistently across the country. These criteria are developed by relevant expert clinical advisers, drawn from NHS England’s 42 Clinical Reference Groups (CRGs). These CRGs have been established to support clinical commissioning across the entire specialised commissioning portfolio.In the case of NICE Technology Appraisal TA429 for ibrutinib in previously treated chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and untreated chronic lymphocytic leukaemia with 17p deletion or TP53 mutation, NICE issued the following statement on 8 June 2018: “Given the evidence that was considered by the NICE appraisal committee, we consider it reasonable for the guidance to be read as referring to those patients considered unsuitable for retreatment. Because unsuitability for retreatment is not defined in the guidance, we consider it appropriate for NHS England, as the commissioner, to take clinical advice in order to do so.”NHS England took clinical advice in setting the specific treatment criteria linked to this appraisal and we are advised that the criteria were derived from the main study that had underpinned the NICE guidance and are consistent with guidance issued by the European Society for Medical Oncology last updated in June 2017. Between January 2017 and May 2018, nearly 1,000 patients were registered to receive treatment with ibrutinib in this indication. This is in line with NICE’s estimates that 700 adults per year would be eligible for treatment as a result of its guidance.However, NHS England has further advised that it is more than willing to receive and review by the end of July, any further evidence that patients and clinicians wish to submit on this matter. The evidence will first be considered by NHS England’s Chemotherapy CRG, with advice and recommendations from this group then being submitted to the National Medical Director, Professor Steve Powis, for consideration.During 2017/18, 1,193 Individual Funding Requests were considered by NHS England. An analysis of how may related to treatments for blood cancer has not been conducted.

Cancer: Clinical Reference Groups

lord mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the transparency of the decision-making process of NHS England in relation to cancer clinical reference groups and the frequency with which such groups meet.

lord o'shaughnessy: NHS England’s current model of Clinical Reference Groups (CRG) was established following an extensive public engagement process which was completed during April 2016.Since April 2016, the Cancer National Programme of Care has been supported by five CRGs (Chemotherapy, Radiotherapy, Specialised Cancer Surgery, Specialised Cancer Diagnostics and Children’s and Young People’s Cancer Services). The role of each CRG is to provide the primary source of clinical advice and leadership to NHS England on those services that are nationally commissioned. Each CRG comprises clinicians, patient and public voice representatives, professional association representation, public health experts and a commissioner and will usually meet between two and four times per year.Transparency of decision making is important to NHS England. As a result, both stakeholder testing and public consultation are conducted regularly, in accordance with NHS England’s published Service Development Policy and Methods, in relation to the development of new clinical commissioning policy and service specifications.

Obesity

lord pendry: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the estimated cost to the NHS of the treatment of obesity in (1) 2016, and (2) 2017.

lord o'shaughnessy: The economic burden of ill health due to diet, physical inactivity, smoking, alcohol and obesity in the UK: an update to 2006-07 NHS costs estimated that overweight and obesity cost the National Health Service in the United Kingdom £5.1 billion per year. This figure was uplifted to £6.1 billion in 2014/15 to take account of inflation. No estimates have been made centrally of the cost of obesity in 2016 or 2017. A copy of The economic burden of ill health due to diet, physical inactivity, smoking, alcohol and obesity in the UK: an update to 2006-07 NHS costs is attached.



The economic burden of ill health due to diet
(PDF Document, 138.15 KB)

Department for Education

Special Educational Needs: Speech and Language Disorders

lord shinkwin: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to fund a national programme of training for education staff working with children and young people with speech, language and communication needs, similar to that previously funded for autism.

lord agnew of oulton: Since 2010, the department has funded the development of training and resources to ensure that the schools’ workforce is equipped to support pupils with specific types of special educational needs and disability (SEND), including speech language and communication needs (SLCN). These are hosted on the SEND and Education Foundation Gateway. Our focus is on enabling education professionals to access and navigate these resources. We have agreed a new schools’ workforce contract with the National Association for Special Educational Needs (NASEN), to encourage schools to prioritise SEND within their CPD and school improvement plans, and to equip them to identify and meet their training needs. This contract will look across all types of impairment, including SLCN. We are also continuing to fund The Communications Trust and are undertaking a gap analysis of training and resources for the schools’ workforce. The findings from this research will inform what programmes might be required in the future.

Further Education

lord smith of clifton: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many 19–24 year olds on first full Level 3 Further Education programmes were studying (1) full-time, and (2) part-time, in England in 2016–17.

lord agnew of oulton: The information requested is not held centrally.A total of 203,890 learners aged 19 to 24 years old participated in full Level 3 courses in the 2016-17 academic year.Additional information on further education and skills participation is attached and also available from the ‘FE data library: further education and skills’ demographic tool at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/fe-data-library-further-education-and-skills. 



HL8579_FE_and_Skills_Participation_demographic
(Excel SpreadSheet, 2.61 MB)

Students: Loans

lord smith of clifton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was (1) the indicative budget allocation, and (2) the actual level of borrowing, for part-time higher education fee loans in England in (a) 2016–17, and (b) 2017–18.

viscount younger of leckie: The Student Loans Company publishes statistics on student loan expenditure by financial year as part of an annual national statistic ‘The Student Loans Company: Student Loans in England’. These statistics are available in the tables at:https://www.slc.co.uk/official-statistics/student-loans-debt-and-repayment/england.aspx.[1]In the financial years 2016-17 and 2017-18, £237.6 million and £246 million respectively were paid in part-time tuition fee loans in England. There is no separate budget for part-time loans in the department. The budget for student loans for all types of study is included within the Departmental Supplementary Estimates. For financial year 2016-17 see the attachment entitled “Part II: Changes Proposed”, also available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supplementary-estimates-2016-17, (page 185). For 2017-18 see attachment entitled “Part II: Revised subhead detail including additional provision”, also available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supplementary-estimates-2017-18, (page 196). [1] It is not possible to attach this information as it is part of a lengthy, complex and detailed data set.



Page_185_16-17 _''Part_II_Changes_Proposed''
(PDF Document, 21.45 KB)




Page _196_2017_18_Part_II_Revised_Subhead_Detail
(PDF Document, 21.29 KB)

Ministry of Justice

Prison Officers: Recruitment

baroness eaton: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many prison officers have been recruited for England and Wales by the Ministry of Justice since October 2016.

lord keen of elie: Between 1 November 2016 and 31 March 2018, 6,268 band 3-5 prison officers joined Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service. The latest set of workforce statistics covering the period to 31 March 2018 is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/her-majestys-prison-and-probation-service-workforce-quarterly-march-2018.

Treasury

Low Pay

baroness altmann: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many employees, excluding self-employed persons, in the UK, that are (1) male, and (2) female, earn less than the personal tax threshold.

lord bates: Estimates of the number of individuals with total employee earnings less than the Income Tax Personal Allowance across all of their jobs are shown in the table below. The table relates to the 2016-17 tax year when the Personal Allowance was £11,000. The figures are for people employed and taxed through Pay As You Earn (PAYE) Income Tax. Individuals included in the table may have had more than one job in the year, and their total earnt income from all PAYE employment was below the Personal Allowance. Individuals with total employee earnings less than the Income Tax Personal Allowance from all jobs, 2016-17 tax year (millions)Male4.72Female6.28All11.00  NotesBased on Pay As You Earn data. The earnings definition used is the same as used in the publication, UK Real Time Information, Experimental Statistics. See:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-real-time-information-experimental-statistics

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

High Rise Flats: Fire Extinguishers

lord scriven: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the financial flexibilities that will be granted to local authorities that wish to retrofit sprinklers in tower blocks.

lord scriven: To ask Her Majesty's Government what criteria local authorities will have to meet before they canbe granted financial flexibilities for the retrofitting of sprinklers in tower blocks.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: If a local authority building owner considers any of their buildings to be unsafe, they will need to determine what measures are essential to make each building fire safe. This will need to be done as part of a whole fire safety strategy for each individual building, taking into account expert advice, any directions or advice from the local fire and rescue service, and other fire safety measures present.Local authorities should draw on existing resources to implement these measures. However, we will consider the removal of financial restrictions for local authorities where these stand in the way of essential work being done. This would not include general improvements or enhancements to buildings which go beyond works needed to make a building safe.Where there is a case for financial assistance, we will consider either extending the ability to borrow within the Housing Revenue Account, or possibly a one-off agreement to use general fund money. Any local authority who wishes to discuss their position should contact MHCLG.In addition to the offer of financial flexibilities for essential fire safety work, Government will fully fund the removal and replacement of dangerous Aluminium Composite Material cladding systems that have failed large scale tests on residential buildings over 18m owned by councils and housing associations, with costs estimated at £400 million.

Local Government: Subsidiary Companies

lord storey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what requirements they place on localcouncils setting up companies to take on the role of particular local services.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: The general power of competence provisions set out in the Localism Act 2011 build on existing powers to charge and to trade. If a local authority wishes to trade for a commercial purpose, this must be carried out through a company to ensure that it does not have an unfair tax advantage over business. Local authorities can choose to deliver local services through companies provided that they assure themselves that doing so delivers best value to local residents. Local authorities, like other bodies, are subject to and must abide by competition law and it is their responsibility to ensure they comply with the requirements of state aid, competition and procurement law.

Department for Work and Pensions

Bereavement Benefits

baroness altmann: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much was paid in Bereavement Benefitsin (1) 2013–2014, (2) 2014–2015, (3) 2015–2016, and (4) 2016–2017.

baroness altmann: To ask Her Majesty's Government what they estimate the costs of Bereavement Support Payments will bein thefiscal years (1) 2017–2018, (2) 2018–2019, (3) 2019–2020, (4) 2020–2021, (5) 2021–2022, and (6) 2022–2023.

baroness altmann: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many families with children received either Bereavement Benefit or Bereavement Support Payments in the fiscal years(1) 2013–2014, (2) 2014–2015, (3) 2015–2016, and (4) 2016–2017.

baroness altmann: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many families with children they estimate will receive Bereavement Support Payments in the fiscal years(1) 2017–2018, (2) 2018–2019, (3) 2019–2020, (4) 2020–2021, (5) 2021–2022, and (6) 2022–2023.

baroness altmann: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people without children in full-time education received Bereavement Benefit in the fiscal years(1) 2013–2014, (2) 2014–2015, (3) 2015–2016, and (4) 2016–2017.

baroness altmann: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many households without children in full-time education are expected to receive Bereavement Support Payments in the fiscal years(1) 2017–18, (2) 2018–19, (3) 2019–20, (4) 2020–21, (5) 2021–22, and (6) 2022–23.

baroness buscombe: The Benefit Expenditure and Caseload Tables are published by the department after each fiscal event and contain outturn and forecast expenditure for all Bereavement Related Benefits including Widow’s Pension (WP), Widowed Mother’s Allowance (WMA), Bereavement Allowance (BA), Widowed Parent’s Allowance (WPA) and Bereavement Support Payment (BSP). Table 1 shows expenditure on Bereavement Related Benefits for the requested years from the latest release of these tables published after Spring Statement 2018. Table 2 shows forecast expenditure on Bereavement Support Payments, also from the same source. Table 1: Outturn Expenditure, £m 2018/19 prices 2013/142014/152015/162016/17Bereavement Related Benefits629607601576 Table 2: Forecast Expenditure, £m, 2018/19 prices 2017/182018/192019/202020/212021/222022/23Bereavement Support Payment115199206203198195  The department publishes caseload information on Bereavement Benefits and Widow’s Benefits recipients on on-line via Stat Xplore. These can be broken down by benefit type to show which claims have dependent children. Table 3 below shows caseload data from November of the requested years from Stat Xplore. The caseload is the number of claims in payment during the month in question. Table 3: Caseload Nov-13Nov-14Nov-15Nov-16CaseloadWMA or WPA with dependent children46,30045,30044,20043,100WP, BA or WMA/WPA without dependent children50,10047,70046,20045,700 The forecast volume of claimants for Bereavement Support Payment, broken down by whether the claim is Standard Rate or Higher Rate is shown in Table 4. Claimants with dependent children and entitled to Child Benefit, or who were pregnant, when their husband, wife or civil partner died will get the higher rate. These forecasts are consistent with the caseload forecasts published in the Spring Statement 2018 Benefit Expenditure and Caseload Tables, and represent average caseloads over the full financial year. Table 4: Bereavement Support Payment Forecast Caseload 2017/182018/192019/202020/212021/222022/23Caseload - Standard Rate19,00049,00053,00053,00054,00053,000Caseload - Higher Rate3,0008,0009,0009,0009,0009,000

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Agricultural Products: UK Trade with EU

lord jones: To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the annual export earnings of British agriculture from EU member states.

lord gardiner of kimble: The value of UK exports of food, feed and drink was £22 billion in 2017. Of this, 60% (£13 billion) were to countries in the European Union.

Home Office

Asylum: Housing

lord roberts of llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the level of accommodation available to asylum seekers.

baroness williams of trafford: Accommodation providers are required to provide safe, habitable, fit for purpose and correctly equipped accommodation that complies with the Decent Homes Standard in addition to standards outlined in relevant national or local housing legislation.The contract requires Providers to inspect each property every month and UKVI inspects a significant proportion of properties each year to ensure standards are being met. Where asylum accommodation is found to be falling short of the required standards UKVI has procedures in place to hold suppliers to account to quickly resolve the issue.

Asylum

the marquess of lothian: To ask Her Majesty's Government why they do not record data on the length of time it takes to consider individual asylum claims; and whether this information is recorded elsewhere.

baroness williams of trafford: Data on the length of time it takes to consider individual asylum claims is not information that is published and could not be produced without a manual investigation of Home Office systems. The Home Office has a Service Standard to make an initial asylum decision on straightforward claims within 182 days of the date of claim however we are aware of the number of older cases in the system. These are more complex cases which generally have barriers that prevents an initial asylum decision being made. These barriers are often varied and require time to clear. The Home Office publishes performance against the service standard to decide 98% of straight forward asylum claims within 6 months of the date of claim.

Parliament: Demonstrations

lord tebbit: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had, or intend to have, with the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police about the cost of the police and security operations concerning the demonstrations in Old Palace Yard in support of the EU.

baroness williams of trafford: The Government has not had any discussions with the Metropolitan Police Service in respect of this protest.We are clear that the public have the right to peaceful protest, and that police forces should make reasonable contingencies within their budgets to cover the cost of these and other unexpected events in their area. Police and Crime Commissioners have the option to apply for funding through the Police Special Grant to assist with the cost of any significant events which might otherwise threaten the financial stability of the police force.However, we also acknowledge that there are additional demands in policing the national capital and centre of Government, and provide the Metropolitan Police with additional funding called the National and International Capital City (NICC) Grant to help cover those costs. For 2018/19, the NICC Grant was £174m.

Prescription Drugs: Misuse

lord warner: To ask Her Majesty's Government what information they hold on methods available to test the potency and safety of prescription drugs taken illegally by young people; and whether they consider such testing should be made available at large gatherings of young people to help prevent drug related fatalities.

baroness williams of trafford: Prescription-only medicines are, by their very nature, potent and should only be prescribed by a doctor or appropriate healthcare professional.While technologies are available that test the potency and composition of illegally supplied drugs, no illegal drug-taking can be assumed to be safe and there is no safe way to take them.The possession of any amount of a controlled drug is a criminal offence and the supply of a controlled drug is an even more serious offence. While operational decisions are a matter for Chief Constables, the Government and the public expect the police to enforce the law.

Immigration: Married People

baroness afshar: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer byBaroness Williams of Trafford on 18 June, whether they will take steps to improve the treatment by immigration officers of British citizens accompanying non-British born spouses entering the UK; and what those measures will be.

baroness williams of trafford: Border Force expects high standards of professionalism of its officers in their dealings with all members of the public, regardless of their nationality or status.Border Force follows strict guidelines with regards to discrimination, and officers undergo intensive training prior to taking up their positions. Border Force does not tolerate any breach of these principles.Complaints about Border Force and the services it provides are treated seriously and are used as an opportunity to improve services.

Adeniyi Raji

lord scriven: To ask Her Majesty's Government, in thelight of Nigeria's laws against homosexuality, what assessment they have made of the safety of Adeniyi Raji if he is returned to Nigeria.

baroness williams of trafford: The United Kingdom has a long and proud history of granting asylum to those who genuinely need our protection, in accordance with our obligations under the Refugee Convention. Each claim is carefully considered on its individual merits.

Cabinet Office

Customs

baroness suttie: To ask Her Majesty's Government how often the two Cabinet Sub-Committees which are currently examining the two proposed models for future customs cooperation with the EU have met; and when they are expected to reach a conclusion.

lord young of cookham: The Prime Minister has established two working groups to consider the Government’s options for future customs arrangements. We do not comment on the details of work that relates to Cabinet or its sub-Committees. The Government has set out two potential models for the UK’s future customs relationship – a new customs partnership and a highly streamlined customs arrangement, and will set out further detail on its preferred customs model in due course.

Department for International Trade

Overseas Trade: Burma

lord alton of liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer byLord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 12 June, whether they plan toissue official guidance to British companies not to engage in any form of business with companies owned by the Burmese military.

baroness fairhead: DIT continues to support trade with Burma as an important part of driving mutual prosperity. We believe responsible trade and investment has a role to play in Burma’s long-term transition from a military dictatorship with a closed economy to a democracy with an open economy. UK businesses have their own internal processes for determining their investment and trading partners. DIT offers advice and support on working with local partners and encourages all British companies to undertake appropriate due diligence on any investment projects. DIT also ensures companies are aware of UK legislation including the UK Bribery Act (2010) and any relevant sanctions.

Mining: Eritrea

lord alton of liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government how they intend to ensure that British companies directly or indirectly involved in extraction or mining in Eritrea are compliant with (1) UN Security Council Resolution 2023, (2) the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, (3) the Modern Day Slavery Act 2015, and (4) anti-bribery legislation.

baroness fairhead: The Government expects and requires that all UK companies involved in the mining sector, including in Eritrea, comply with all relevant legislation and regulations both UK and local, as it applies to their operations. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office regularly meet with UK companies, and companies with UK investors, involved in extractives in Eritrea. Discussions include their duty to comply with the legislative and regulatory requirements of operating in Eritrea and the human rights of Eritrean nationals involved in their operations in Eritrea. The UK Government will take appropriate action against companies and / or individuals who fail to comply with the relevant legislation.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Mass Media: Northern Ireland

lord lexden: To ask Her Majesty's Government how their media standards review in Northern Ireland will be conducted; and when they anticipate that it will be completed.

lord ashton of hyde: Under the Data Protection Act 2018, the Information Commissioner must conduct a statutory review of the media’s compliance with the Act during the first four years of its operation, with specific consideration of the extent of compliance in each part of the United Kingdom. Alongside that review, a named person will review journalistic compliance with data protection rules in Northern Ireland. This approach, details of which will be finalised in due course, reflects the fact that while data protection is reserved, press regulation is devolved.

Data Protection: EU Law

lord mawson: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many small clubs, charities, and small and medium-sized enterprises they estimate were unable to meet the General Data Protection Regulation requirements by 25 May.

lord ashton of hyde: The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is responsible for monitoring compliance with the UK's new data protection laws. The Information Commissioner has publicly stated that the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a journey rather than a destination. She will be looking to organisations to demonstrate that they are committed to making progress towards embedding the right processes and procedures. The Information Commissioner’s Office has published a range of user-friendly material on the GDPR on its website. It has also set up a dedicated phone line for small businesses and charities.

Data Protection: EU Law

lord mawson: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much they estimate implementing the General Data Protection Regulation requirements will cost for small clubs, charities, andsmall and medium-sized enterprises.

lord ashton of hyde: HM Government's Impact Assessment for the Data Protection Bill assesses there will be implementation costs for a range of organisations but that the overall effect of the Act is de-regulatory. This Impact Assessment is available on gov.uk. The European Commission published an Impact Assessment on the regulatory impact of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This is available on their website.

Data Protection: EU Law

lord mawson: To ask Her Majesty's Government what research they have done to check that organisations that have complied with the General Data Protection Regulation requirements understand the implications of what they have committed themselves to.

lord ashton of hyde: Accountability is one of the data protection principles - it makes organisations responsible for complying with the General Data Protection Regulation and states that organisations must be able to demonstrate their compliance. Accountability obligations are ongoing. Organisations must review and, where necessary, update the measures which they put in place to comply with Data Protection law. More information on data protection principles can be found on the ICO’s website www.ico.org.uk

Women and Equalities

Departmental Responsibilities: Males

lord pearson of rannoch: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to appoint a Minister for Men and Boys; and if not, why not.

baroness williams of trafford: The Government has no current plans to appoint a Minister for Men and Boys. The fact that we have Ministers for Women but no Minister for Men does not reduce our commitment to ensuring equality for everyone. It simply acknowledges that, even in 2018, the UK has not yet reached full gender equality and that we need to deal with some very specific and deep-rooted problems.We are and will remain committed to ensuring gender equality works for men and boys, as well as for women and girls.